Rebekah Brooks and husband bailed over phone hacking inquiry

Rebekah Brooks and her husband Charlie have been bailed after being among six people arrested as part of Operation Weeting.

Rebekah Brooks and her husband Charlie have been bailed (Picture: AP)

Five of those being held over the phone hacking scandal were released on bail last night, Scotland Yard said.

Mrs Brooks, the former chief executive of News International, was being held on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Mark Hanna, News Internationalâs head of security, was also said to be among those arrested during dawn raids in Oxfordshire, London, Hampshire and Hertfordshire.

Mrs Brooks, a former editor of The Sun, was already due to answer bail later this month after being arrested on suspicion of phone hacking and corruption last summer.

The 43-year-old was being questioned at an Oxfordshire police station while her racehorse trainer husband was held in Buckinghamshire.

The arrests could be embarrassing for prime minister David Cameron, who went to school with Mr Brooks.

Earlier this month, Mr Cameron was forced to reveal the extent of his relationship with the couple after it emerged that, in 2008, Scotland Yard loaned Mrs Brooks an ex-police horse and he had ridden it. When asked about the arrests, a Downing Street spokeswoman yesterday said: âIt is an operational matter for the police. You wouldnât expect the prime minister to comment on it.â

The latest development in Operation Weeting came just days after Mrs Brooksâs lawyer, Stephen Parkinson, said evidence given by the MetâsÂ deputy assistant commissioner Sue Akers at the Leveson Inquiry brought âmuch prejudicial materialâ into the public domain.

Ms Akers, who is leading the investigation into illegal news-gathering, told the inquiry into press standards that there was a âculture of illegal paymentsâ at The Sun which wereÂ authorised at a âsenior levelâ.